Who are Masons?
Masonic Lodge members in the United States may be highly visible as Shriners in
costume, or Knights Templar in uniform, or as apron-wearers in civic processions and at
funeral services, or in Lodge regalia at special Masonic ceremonies such as at the laying
of cornerstones (the U.S. Capitol in 1793 and the Statue of Liberty in 1884 are famous
examples) or they may be individually identifiable by a distinctive ring or lapel pin; but in
most cares they are not outwardly distinguished in any way at all. They are simply a
cross-section of the solid-citizen majority of the population, - mostly worthy, ordinary
people, self-respecting, considerate, civic-minded, patriotic, law-abiding, usually
church-going. Many are leaders in their communities; some are world famous.
President Gerald R. Ford is a Mason, and so were thirteen of his predecessors,
including George Washington (subject of many Masonic memorials, notably the monument
at Alexandria, Virginia, and in New York the statue in Flushing Meadow Park and the
headquarters house in Tappan) Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman. Other famous men of the Fraternity include Benjamin
Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere; Generals Douglas McArthur, John J. Pershing,
Omar Bradly; Admiral Ernest J. King; authors Rudyard Kipling, Irving Batcheller;
composers Beethoven, Mozart, Sibelius; patriots Lafayette, Bolivar, Garibaldi; explorer
Richard E. Byrd; Edward V. Rickenbacker, Daniel Carter Beard, J. Edgar Hoover; doctors
Charles W. Mayo, Sir Alexander Fleming; industrialists Thomas J. Watson, David Sarnoff;
Cecil B. DeMille; Lauritz Melchior; clergymen Daniel A. Poling, Norman Vincent Peale;
astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin, Gordon Cooper; and others. There are many more, but it is
still true that most Masons, like the majority of the individuals, live their lives without world
fame.